Embark on a Mind-Bending Art Odyssey to Uruguay & Argentina

Find out why celebrities like Drake idolize the artist.

Just when you conceive there could be no better room to catch the sundown — sip on tannat at a rooftop infinity puddle in the idyllic beach Ithiel Town of José Ignacio , Uruguay — a guide tells you it ’s meter to enter the skyspace . He leads you to what looks like a domed sepulcher , opens a massive doorway , and ushers you into the latest immersive induction by an artist whose body of work is so “ life - deepen ” that far-famed people around the world ca n’t stop cast money at him . And after what you see in this way , you too might just link the cult of James Turrell .

During the next half hour , you stare at the sky through a round cutout in the domed cap . Around the skylight , the cap easy vary colouring material , tricking your eye into thinking the sky is tangerine when the roof glows purple , or that the heavens are ethereal green when the dome lightens to ping .

Even if you have n’t managed to get storage area of some ofUruguay ’s legal locoweed , you ’re unquestionably tripping a little . You might even feel like you ’re in the “ Hotline Bling ” video recording — Drake is also aTurrell stan .

José Ignacio Online

TheTa Khut skyspaceis one of several dozen mind - bending speculation chamber that Turrell has spatter all over the world . Another sits in neighbor Argentina , in a outback locating quite similar to the desert in Arizona , where , for nearly 50 age , Turrell has been working on his magnum opus , Roden Crater , a sprawling serial of interconnect observatories progress into an nonextant volcano . Both of Turrell ’s South American skyspaces are part of swish posada hotels , which intend that visiting them is an especially transportive experience — even if you do n’t book a room .

If this all sounds like it should be at the top of your art travel pail list , well then , babe , you ’ve get wind the brightness .

Head to Uruguay to experience South America’s only free-standing skyspace…

Ta Khut opened in 2021 on the terra firma ofPosada Ayana , a compendium of smart modernist suites in José Ignacio , sometimes called “ the Hamptons of South America . ” With a dome inspire by the stupas atop Tibetan shrine , it ’s the perfect property to attain a bit of zen . midland photos are strictly prohibited , so do n’t even think about doing this for the ‘ gram . Instead , lean back against the quiet Brazilian marble rampart , bliss out to the cricket chirp in the “ sky garden ” seeded with 15,000 native plants , and try not to finger like you ’re being abducted by a UFO .

experience there and stick in : José Igancio is a 40 - min drive or bus ride along the coast from Punta del Este , the high - rise stamping ground Ithiel Town about 2.5 hour from Uruguay’senchanting and underratedcapital city of Montevideo . Skyspace seance ( $ 40 for non - Uruguayans ) are offered while the hotel is open , November to April . verify to hold well in advance via thewebsiteor by writingskyspace@posada-ayana.com . Hotel guests can visit for barren at their leisure and have access to early - morning sunrise sessions , so they can wiretap into their brain ’s theta wave before arrive at some actual wave .

What else to do : José Ignacio has plenty of elegant dinner spots where you may tuck into one of Uruguay ’s illustrious grill steak , but it ’s real spell rest in itschiringuitos , beach shacks serve up cheap caipirinhas or Fernet and Cokes for the Brazilians and Argentinians who constellate here .

José Ignacio Online

The Chillest, Laid-Back City in South America Is Not Where You’d Expect

It’s all weed, beaches, and basic human rights here.

…Or trek to Argentina for the world’s only James Turrell Museum

From anart island in Japanto a glowing Harlan Fiske Stone cylinder in the Swiss the Alps , Turrell Pilgrim have been make love to travel to the ends of the earth . That definitely describes the mountainous desert near the Argentinian - Bolivian border , where you ’ll find the only museum dedicated to the master of light . Visitors are do by to a vocation - traverse sample of his work , from wall - mount holograms to immersive light baths that make you feel like you ’re standing at the pearly-white gates . Before all that , you ’ll get a sampling of local wines that are also pretty divine . The museum shares a belongings withBodega Colomé , home to some of the Old endlessly - producing vineyards in Argentina .

Swiss - born art accumulator Donald Hess , founder of the wine maker ’s current incarnation , construct the Turrell museum against betting odds that would ’ve scared off Fitzcarraldo . The full affair is run on generators , so visit are restrain to just one hour - long guided duty tour per day . Many locals come here just to taste some of the highest - elevation vino in the world and do n’t even realize the skyspace session is part of the package , so do n’t be surprised when they unknowingly duck out early on and you have the whole affair to yourself .

bring forth there and getting in : Most masses make this trip fly into the Andean city of Salta and rent a cable car — preferably an SUV — to experience some of Argentina ’s most scenic quite a little roads . The lineal route from Salta to Colomé steer through landscapes remindful of Death Valley and takes about five hours . The even more scenic path affect driving in the south to the wineries of Cafayate via Route 68 and then double back north to Colomé via path 40 . Google Maps will order you this takes about 6.5 hour , but selfie - junkie be warned : Once you hit Quebrada de las Conchas national park , you ’ll be pulling over every five minute to snap photos of otherworldly rock formations . At Bodega Colomé , you canbooka simple tasting and term of enlistment , but staying over at Estancia Colomé means lounging by the syndicate all mean solar day and doing some primo stargazing at Nox .

Bodega Colomé

What else to do : Plan to spend a night in Salta catching folkloric song and dance at one of the free - wheel peña parties . Locals know to line up outside ofLa Casona del Molinowell before it open up for any chance of being seated for dinner . break in up the drive from Salta by overnighting in the dusty frontier town of Cafayate and exploring local wineries like the statelyEl Esteco . One of the good auberge , Killa , takes its name from an indigenous word for “ moon . ” give thanks us later for the stargazing here .

…Or do them both

If you ’re determined to see 101 skyspaces before you go bad , the power move here is to take the three - hourhigh - speed catamaranbetween Montevideo and Buenos Aires . From Buenos Aires , budget carrierJetSmartoffers cheap flights to Salta ; from Montevideo , COTruns heap to José Igancio . And commend the golden rule of a Turrell tripper : traveling illumination !